


Written in Flame

by ThatRavenclawBitch



Series: Rumbelle Showdown 2014 [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Rumbelle Showdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-30
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-11 00:58:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2047044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatRavenclawBitch/pseuds/ThatRavenclawBitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the 2014 Rumbelle Showdown. My Round 2 fic submitted as Annie’s Boobs.</p>
<p>prompt: In fallow fields, Care to dance?, Hidden powers</p>
            </blockquote>





	Written in Flame

Belle watched as forest gave way to freshly plowed fields through the carriage window. They’d been travelling only a short time, but it seemed they’d already journeyed far from the Dark Castle. The vegetation here was still mostly green, despite the encroaching colors of autumn. She had no doubt that once they left the carriage the temperature would be much warmer than the frigid air of Rumplestiltskin’s mountain home.

She glanced over at the man in question. He’d been in high spirits, magical energy crackling about him like an electrical storm when he’d found her in the kitchens only a few hours ago. He’d told her they were going out and then proceeded to leave the room. Belle had to chase him down to ask questions, and even then he wasn’t forthcoming. He’d simply told her to dress warmly and meet him in the entrance hall.

Belle hadn’t left the castle grounds since they’d ventured to Sherwood Forest in search of Robin Hood. Then she’d been angry at Rumple, trying to appeal to any shred of humanity in him. She’d somehow gotten through to him, and they’d been increasingly companionable ever since.

But on this trip, Rumplestiltskin had scarce spoken three words to her since the carriage rolled away from the front gates of the Dark Castle. In fact, he seemed almost nervous, his hands fiddling with a piece of string in his lap.

 “Ah, here we are at last,” he said suddenly, looking pointedly out the window. Belle looked back out her own window, but could see nothing much beyond the twilit fields.

The carriage came to a halt and Rumple disembarked, his fitful energy returning. He offered a hand to Belle and helped her down, and she gasped at the sight that met her eyes.

In a fallow field there was a veritable city of tents in every color of the rainbow. Torches lit the way from the road into the midst of a cacophony of sounds, colors and smells.

She could hear the laughter of children, the sound of strings, woodwinds and drums. She could smell incense and roasting meat along with the sweet scent of fresh pastry. And from every direction her eyes were met with explosions of color, from the tents themselves to jewel toned flags heralding different stalls, to the clothing of the carnival goers.

Now that she was faced with all of it, she was surprised she hadn’t heard the music from inside the carriage.

“Well?” Rumplestiltskin asked, eyeing her nervously.

“It’s miraculous!” Belle exclaimed, as Rumplestiltskin’s face split into a pleased smile. “Where are we? Why are we here?”

“In a kingdom far to the south,” he answered. “It’s their annual harvest festival. I have a deal to make, and I thought you might be of use.”

“What sort of deal?” she asked. Rumple just stared at her for a moment.

“On second thought, I can see that you’ll be quite useless.” Belle hardly had time to be affronted before he was pressing a heavy coin purse into her hand.

“Go on, dearie,” he said, pulling his hood up to shadow his face. “Enjoy the carnival. I’ll see to my business and meet you back here in an hour.”

With that he turned on his heel and left. Belle stared after him for a moment with her mouth slightly agape. He’d just left her alone at a crowded festival far from the confines of his home. She would never think of shirking their deal and running away, and his obvious show of trust warmed her heart. 

Belle immediately set off through the maze of tents, her coin purse clinking merrily against her hip. It was the most freedom she’d been given since she’d arrived at the Dark Castle, and she didn’t mean to squander it.

Belle wandered the carnival, munching on toffees and enjoying being among so many people for the first time in months. She’d stopped to watch a troupe of jugglers when someone called out to her.

“Care to hear your future?” a strangely accented voice asked.

She turned to see a woman lounging outside a deep purple tent. She didn’t look anything like the fortunetellers who used to come to the summer fair back home. They were always wizened old women, wrapped in gauzy shawls and beaded jewelry, hunched over their crystal balls and cards.

This woman was young, not much older than Belle herself. She had gleaming red hair that hung down her back in intricate braids and shrewd brown eyes. Her dress was an even brighter shade of red than her hair, though the simplicity of the cut kept her from being overwhelmed by the outfit.

“Only three pennies,” the woman continued. “Such a small price for the knowledge of your fate.”

Belle didn’t put much stock in divination. There were people with the gift of foresight to be sure, though they’d hardly be peddling their powers at harvest festivals. But she had a purse full of coins and some time left to kill.

“Alright,” Belle responded, pulling the coins from her purse and placing them in the woman’s outstretched hand.

She followed her into the dim interior of her tent and glanced around, looking for some hint of a crystal ball. Perhaps the woman read palms. But there wasn’t even a table in the tent, only two chairs arranged around a fire pit. The woman motioned for Belle to sit in one of the chairs and sat opposite her.

“I practice the art of pyromancy,” she said, lighting the flame so the tent was bathed in warm firelight. “I read the flames.”

There was something eerie about the way the light played off the woman’s face, the Spartan furnishings of the tent making the fire pit its only focal point. Belle shuddered and drew her cloak closer around her. The woman took a deep breath and gazed into the flames.

“There is a man,” she began, and Belle had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes.

“Isn’t there always?” she said with a smile.

The woman ignored her and continued, “But he is so much more than just a man. There is darkness, so much darkness. And you will be his only light.”

Belle frowned slightly at that. The woman could have easily seen her arrive with Rumple. But something in the seer’s tone caused a shiver to run up her spine.

“You’re a brave soul,” the woman said, eyes sparkling in the firelight. “You must be brave, for you will see many challenges.”

“What kind of challenges?” Belle asked.

“You will love a difficult man,” she answered. “Your path will not be an easy one. You will suffer loss.”

The woman grabbed a handful of powder from a nearby bowl and threw it on the flames causing them to leap and glow green for a brief moment.

“You have some magic as well,” she said. “You could be quite powerful.”

“I – I don’t have any magic,” Belle stammered. “I’m nothing special.”

The woman simply shrugged. “Hidden powers are only hidden until we have use of them.”

The woman’s eyes suddenly snapped up from the flames to focus on Belle’s face.

“But you already know the man of whom I speak. You’ve already begun your journey.”

Belle nodded slowly. “I think so. Though I don’t know if he cares for me.”

“He feels more deeply than you know,” the woman replied, leaning back away from the heat of the flames. “There will soon come a time when you will see.”

Belle quirked a brow at the redheaded woman. “Could you be slightly more specific?”

The woman just shrugged again. “The flames tell much, but not all. I can only guide.”

With that she grabbed a water pail from beside her chair and extinguished the fire.

Belle left the tent in a daze. Could the woman’s words be true? Could Rumple have feelings for her? He’d brought her all this way to a festival to help him with a deal only to turn her loose once they arrived. Was this really just another gift, like her library? Could she truly be his “light”? She was so caught up in her own thoughts she almost ran headlong into the man in question.

“There you are, dearie!” he exclaimed, waggling a finger at her. “Watch where you’re going. I’d hate to startle you.”

“I’ve just been told my future,” she said with a smirk. “There’s nothing you could do that should ever surprise me. I’ve been utterly spoiled.”

“That sounds like a challenge,” he said, eyeing a group of dancers at one end of the festival grounds.

“By all means, try your best,” she replied.

After a moment, Rumple held one hand out to her and bowed with a flourish. “Care to dance?”

Belle giggled at his showmanship and accepted his hand.

“I’d love to.”

As he lead her to join the revelry, Belle thought maybe she should start having more faith in the word of carnival fortunetellers.


End file.
